British Airways pension warns of 6,000 deaths before row resolved

More than 6,000 British Airways pensioners could die before a legal dispute between the airline and its retirement plan's trustees is finally settled, according to court documents. The warning was made by trustees of the Airways Pension Scheme, which has been locked in a four-year battle with BA over the awarding of a 0.2 per cent discretionary increase to thousands of retired airline workers. The trustees estimate a further 2,330 deaths could occur if an appeal by BA was to stretch a further two years. As the funder of the pension scheme, BA would be on the hook for any shortfall, which could be exacerbated by making extra payments to members. Last year the airline made payments of more than £500m towards pension fund deficits.